Bought my impulse red '01 Tacoma 4x4 extra cab 2.7L 5spd manual on 1/5/01 in Fremont; its been my DD since then and I've put 160k on it over the last 13 years. It was my first and only new vehicle. My now 70 mile commute is not getting any easier so I'm planning to get a commuter car with an automatic and dedicate the tacoma to off-roading. I've only done mild off-roading with it in the past but have been mostly impresssed with its capabilities.

A few special reasons (beyond the normal cool stuff) why I love my tacoma:
- I average 21 to 24 mpg (usually 22.5) with 31s (265/70r16)
- I get 50k on front brake pads
- 90k on the last set of tires: Michelin cross-terrains , 45k on the crappy dulops that came on it (It was like a getting a much better truck after those crap tires came off) Have a set of m/s2 on it now.
-still on the original clutch
-still on the original belts (its a little experiment started after about 50k that has gotten somewhat obsurd; I've had all new belts in the rear storage compartment with tools once one goes for quite some time; like at least 5 or 6 years)

I am all for preventative maintainance though and changed the oil every 3k for the first few years; now with the 70 mile flat easy freeway commute have gone to the 7500 schedule, but will change it before then if it looks funky. Changed gear lube (rear diff & manual trans) after break-in I think around 10k and several times since. Been pretty good about adhering to the maintainances schedule (or better) in the owners manual. I basically accelerate easy and keep it under 75mph for fuel economy, but has really seemed to reduce wear & tear.

Some things I wish were better:
-Paint. Some puck kids egged it and some egg shell went down to the base layer in two spots. It also chips super easy from very small pebbles kicked up on the road. I haven't had this problem with any other vehicle.
- That 1st gear didn't get really hard to downshift into around 50k; I took it in under while under warranty frustrated that is was not meeting specs in the owners manual while only a couple years old, but the dealer refused to do anything about it.

Mods I'd like to do:
-Arb front & rear lockers, undecided to if re-gearing the stock 4.30s is needed (both diffs are open)
-2nd set of wheels and either 33x10.5r15s, 255/85r16s, or maybe 35x12.5r15s in either bfg ATs or km2 (trying to keep the rotational mass down for the 2.7L with load c or the lighter load e above; bfgs seem to be the lightest good offroad tires around)
-sliders, belly pan, maybe bumpers
-rear frame reinforcement
-adjustable coil overs for something like 1 1/2 to 3" lift and either an add a leaf or maybe deaver leaf and shackles. (I guess a body lift would be needed for 35s, like relentless "hot tamale"; do not want to relocate the lower control arms with those goofy looking 6" lifts)
-detachable winch for front, rear, or attachment at the anchorge with an aux battery, so can just bring when i need it. (I use a 4 ton cable puller with spraps; it works fine but want something better)

I would like to do none-permanent style mods so if/when I decided to sell it the prespective buyer can easily bring to back to stock if they wish to.

So that was probably way to much stuff, but go easy on my me; I am an ultra newb...

Welcome from the East Bay, there's TW'rs all over the Bay Area, mosey on over to the Norcal Thread and say hi dude. Keep yer eye on that thread for meets and wheelin fun. We're having a mod day in Sacto next month if you wanna meet a bunch of us.

Bought my impulse red '01 Tacoma 4x4 extra cab 2.7L 5spd manual on 1/5/01 in Fremont; its been my DD since then and I've put 160k on it over the last 13 years. It was my first and only new vehicle. My now 70 mile commute is not getting any easier so I'm planning to get a commuter car with an automatic and dedicate the tacoma to off-roading. I've only done mild off-roading with it in the past but have been mostly impresssed with its capabilities.

A few special reasons (beyond the normal cool stuff) why I love my tacoma:
- I average 21 to 24 mpg (usually 22.5) with 31s (265/70r16)
- I get 50k on front brake pads
- 90k on the last set of tires: Michelin cross-terrains , 45k on the crappy at21 dulops that came on it (It was like a getting a much better truck after those tires came off) Have a set of m/s2 on it now.
-still on the original clutch
-still on the original belts (its a little experiment started after about 50k that has gotten somewhat obsurd; I've had all new belts in the rear storage compartment with tools once one goes for quite some time; like at least 5 or 6 years)

I am all for preventative maintainance though and changed the oil every 3k for the first few years; now with the 70 mile flat easy freeway commute have gone to the 7500 schedule, but change it early if it looks funky. Changed gear lube (rear diff & manual trans) after break-in I think around 10k and few times since. Been pretty good about adhering to the maintainances schedule (or better) in the owners manual. I basically accelerate easy and keep it under 75mph for fuel economy, but has really seemed to reduce wear & tear.

Some things I wish were better:
-Paint. Someone egged it and the some egg shell went down to the base layer in two spots. the paint chips easy from very small pebbles kicked up on the road. I haven't had this problem with any other vehicle.
- That 1st gear didn't get hard to downshift (started around 50k); I took it in under while under warranty frustrated that is was not meeting specs in the owners manual while only a couple years old, but the dealer refused to do anything about it.

Mods I'd like to do:
-Arb front & rear lockers, undecided to if re-gearing the stock 4.30s is needed (both diffs are open)
-2nd set of wheels and either 33x10.5r15s, 255/85r16s, or maybe 35x12.5r15s in either bfg ATs or km2 (trying to keep the rotational mass down for the 2.7L with load c or the lighter load e above; bfgs seem to be the lightest good offroad tires around)
-sliders, belly pan, maybe bumpers
-rear frame reinforcement
-adjustable coil overs for something like 1 1/2 to 3" lift and either an add a leaf or maybe deaver leaf and shackles. (I guess a body lift would be needed for 35s, like relentless "hot tamale"; do not want to relocate the lower control arms with those goofy looking 6" lifts)
-detachable winch for front, rear, or attachment at the anchorge with an aux battery, so can just bring when i need it. (I use a 4 ton cable puller with spraps; it works fine but want something better)

I would like to do none-permanent style mods so if/when I decided to sell it the prespective buyer can easily bring to back to stock if they wish to.

So that was probably way to much stuff, but go easy on my me; I am an ultra newb...

Click to expand...

update:

-Got 33x12.5x15 Duratracs on 15x8" Ultra Wheels. The duratracs are light like I wanted & tread patern in bewteen the bfg ATs & km2. Since they are a light duty off-road tires I'll need to take extra care with the sidewalls & sharp rocks; noticed a lot more dura-crap commentary lately but figure it is more likely I just care more now. Most of the tall/skinny tire advocates I noticed jumped ship for wider tires and seem to prefer them; might try tall/skinny later... the grass is always greener

I was overly concerned with backspacing and knew I only really needed 4 1/4" to 4 1/2" but got 3.7". That extra 1/2" to 3/4" would make it a lot easier to clear the cab.

-agressively did the pinch weld mod; they mostly clear now on the stock suspension.

OME lift & dakars with aal seems right but want to get skids/bellypan/silders/bumpers/winch on before doing the suspension as what I actually buy seems to vary a bit from what i think i'll get, and would suck if got 881s but end up needing 882s.

Think i should re-gear now that I did a few tanks on the 33s, but am on the fence between 4.56s & 4.88s